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Saturday, September 3, 2011

Roasted Garlic & Onion Dip

Labor Day Weekend-- traditionally, this holiday is all about the end of summer. Grills are being fired up for the last time, in many parts of the country. As for me, I wear white after Labor Day. It's my Californian rebellious nature. Flip-flops are worn year-round... pretty much. I love summer. But, this one has been a total "bust". Pacific Grove (my forty-minute commute to work) has been foggy almost every single day-- well, there have been a few days of blue skies. I think I can count them on one hand. However, our home is situated in the sun belt. On the weekends, hubs and I have enjoyed glorious 70-degree afternoons on our patio.

One sunny day, in July, I had a craving for onion dip. I can't recall the last time I've eaten onion dip. What I do remember is that the recipe consisted of a packet of onion soup mix was stirred into sour cream. I don't stock that product, any longer. How hard could it be to make onion dip from scratch, I wondered? I did a bit of research on the internet, and decided to come up with my own version.

It took a little bit of time to roast the garlic. I cut the top off a whole head of garlic, and drizzled a bit of olive oil over it. The garlic was wrapped in foil, and baked at 350F for about 45 minutes. I unwrapped it and set it aside to cool. In the meantime, I sliced an onion very thin, and caramelized it in olive oil until golden and caramelized-- about 20 minutes.

Once the roasted garlic had cooled enough, I squeezed out that glorious sweet garlic...then mashed it with a fork. NOTE: Try adding this to mashed potatoes. Wowza!

The seasonings are simple-- garlic powder, white pepper and salt. I took a shortcut and used 1 Tablespoon of Susie-Q's Santa Maria Seasoning. I used 1 1/2 cups Lite Sour Cream and 3/4 cup of mayonnaise-- and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

I gave it a stir and tasted to see if I needed to adjust the seasonings to our liking.

I then stirred in the mashed roasted garlic, and the caramelized onion.

Then, we dipped in.

VERDICT: While it took a bit of prep work, as opposed to opening a packet of onion soup mix, the results were much better. Chips with mayo and sour cream = total guilty pleasure. Very good! However, there are a few notes on what I would do differently, next time. First, the onions should be diced. At first, it was fun to have a clump of onion with each bite. At the bottom of the bowl, there were too many onions that clumped together. I didn't like how that looked. Secondly, the Susie-Q seasoning should have been reduced by about half. I love this seasoning mix for our Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip. I felt it was a little too salty, though my husband didn't. I wasn't compensating for the fact that the chips are already salty, so keep that in mind while seasoning the mayonnaise and sour cream. I think a pinch of cayenne or paprika would be a nice touch, too.

This weekend, we are grilling ribs again. If I can find good apples, I just might bake my first fall pie of the season. Then again, I'm just not 100% ready to let go of summer stone fruits. My part of California has a different micro-climate. If we're lucky, our blue skies and temps in the 70's have been known to arrive in September-October. We shall see!

I like this idea - roasted garlic and carmelized onions are so different than raw. I think I would try it without the additional seasoning, except or a little s+p if needed. Let the natural flavors shine through. Another thought I had as I read your tasting notes was maybe to pulse the onions and garlic a little before blending into the mix.

This is my all time favorite dip and I haven't had it in ages! Using REAL roasted garlic - AWESOME!!!! I can taste it now. Now you've inspired me to make this and to do it right - NO onion soup mix! :)

Ina Garten has a wonderful pan-fried onion dip that is wonderful. It uses 2 onions, mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, cayenne pepper plus a few additional ingredients. It is thick enough to to keep all the wonderful caramelized onions from sinking too far into the dip. I always get such compliments. It is easy to find on the internet. Think I might try adding the roasted garlic too. Yum

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Welcome to my internet kitchen. Please, sit back and relax, and watch me make delicious food and bakery recipes. Most of my recipes are simple, flavorful meals-- and a few baked treats. I focus on using fresh, seasonal ingredients and I try to avoid using boxed mixes and processed foods. I'm having fun learning how to cook like my grandmother once did-- from scratch! I hope that my step-by-step photos will inspire a timid cook to try them. Even if you're a seasoned cook, hopefully you'll learn a new tip or two.

If you have any questions,or just want to say "hello", please feel free to email me: foodiewife@gmail.com

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